Gun Carrier Mark 1 (Mk 1)

History of the Waffentrager Mark 1 (Mk 1)

In every respect, the Carrier Mark 1 gun became the world's first Self-Propelled Artillery System (SPA). This somewhat revolutionary concept was introduced by the British in July 1916, and production increased from June to July of the following year.

Note that the weapons on the Gun Carrier Mark 1 were not intended to be fired from vehicles, but introduced the concept of using artillery weapons on tracked aircraft carriers. A total of 50 prototypes were delivered, some of which were used in the final stages of World War I, which finally marked the beginning of today's "Age of Tanks".

Self-propelled artillery became a staple of modern armies during WWII (in many ways perfected by the German army, who modified outdated armor systems to deal with large-caliber field guns) and continues to play a well-defined role throughout the Cold War to this day.

The Gun Carrier Mk I was designed for use with the British Mark 1 series, which itself is considered to be the world's first true main battle tank. The main battle tank concept was a forced development to break a deadlock that proved all too common in trench warfare, and it soon became clear that a similarly armored tracked artillery carrier was needed to navigate the potholes of war. It is envisaged that these artillery transporters will follow the advances made by the Mark 1 tanks and tow the artillery to help provide vital high-speed fire support.

After reaching the intended target area, the artillery system on the gun mount is assembled and ready to fire as usual.

British engineers from the Metropolitan, Carriage, Wagon and Finance groups learned from the combat use of the Mark 1 tank and developed a pilot vehicle around the tank, designed to carry a powerful field gun or howitzer system into battle . The end result is a combination of components and systems that have an ugly look to say the least, although the new "Gun Carrier Mark 1" is only designed to carry guns. The design was accepted and tested before being awarded a production contract worth 50 cars.

Production was handed over to Kitson & Company.

The design of the Mark 1 gun wagon follows conventional thinking in terms of the "diamond" tanks that appeared in World War I. The Mark 1 tank was a real success, including a riveted structure and long rails and a "fishtail" - the steering wheel system. The hull had a boxy fixed superstructure to carry the engine, crew and main armament - the latter in an open-air forward compartment. A pair of wheels protruding from the rear of the vehicle act as the tank's "rudders" as the vehicle turns.

Basic functions require a crew of four, including a vehicle commander, an onboard mechanic who controls the engine, and two staff trained to operate the gear. Rifle teams also travel with them to get their field guns ready to fire on demand. Armored forward compartment next to driver and gun mount.

Armored cabs are located on each side of the gun mounts. The wheels of the gun were detached from the gun during transport and mounted on the rear side of the vehicle.

The Gun Carrier Mark 1 is equipped with a 105 hp Daimler petrol engine, mounted in a rectangular compartment at the rear of the vehicle. This achieves a top speed of nearly 25 mph in very ideal conditions. That rate is optimistic at best, given the type of terrain the carrier is expected to travel through. The total weight of the vehicle is approximately 8,820 pounds.

She has a barrel length of 16 feet, a width of 5 feet, and an overall height of between 7 feet and 9 feet.

Once in place, the rifle group unloads the weapon, mounts the wheels to the gun mount, and gets the gun ready. While this may seem like a rather time-consuming concept, it compares favorably to the dozens of men needed to haul a single artillery system, proper supplies and ammunition depots over rough terrain.

The mechanization of the Gun Carrier Mark 1 undoubtedly simplifies the delivery of field artillery to a certain extent.

In the end, however, the Mark 1 gunboats had little impact on the course of World War I, when the stalemate still prevailed and the tactics of tanks today are still in their infancy. None of these weapons delivery systems are believed to have fired a single shot in combat, although around 48 cars were supplied to the British Army - split into two companies of 24 cars each.

The remaining two of the original order of 50 were converted into a "gun truck crane" system designed to support Allied engineer tanks. These versions feature a heavy-duty crane on their front end and see their two armoured cabs completely dismantled.

An improved version of the original Gun Carrier Mark 1 came out as the Gun Carrier Mark 2, although this only evolved into a half-finished prototype, nothing more.

Specification

Basic

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Performance

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Armor

Not available.

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